Govermental Future of Space Travel

"As a former astronaut and the current NASA Administrator, I'm here to tell you that American leadership in space will continue for at least the next half-century because we have laid the foundation for success -- and failure is not an option."

Charles Bolden
NASA Administrator
National Press Club, July 1, 2011


NASA is researching ways to design and build aircraft that are safer, more fuel-efficient, quieter, and more safe for the environment. NASA is also working to create traffic management systems that are safer, more efficient and more flexible. They are developing technologies that improve routing during flights and enable aircraft to climb to and descend from their cruising altitude without a disturbance.

NASA believes it is possible to build an aircraft that uses less fuel, gives off fewer fumes, and is quieter, and is working on the technologies to create that aircraft. NASA is also part of the government team that is working to develop the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, to be in place by the year 2025. NASA will continue to create new, complex aircraft and air traffic control systems to ensure the safety measures are taken with high standards.

  • International Space Station
  • Orion MPCV
  • Juno
  • Curiosity
  • Dawn

The International Space Station is the centerpiece of The United States space program . The International Space Station has a crew of six full time astronauts . The American Astronauts continue to live and research every day of the year. The United States portion of the station is being used as a national laboratory where scientific research is being conducted. Video courtesy of NASA.

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NASA is researching and creating plans to send people to the solar system, while the future goal is to land humans on Mars. The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or MPCV will be based on the design for the Orion model. The Orion craft will be able to hold four astronauts on a 21-day mission.

This capsule is for traveling past low Earth orbit (LEO). This design will not only carry the crew to space, but provide emergency abort capability , maintain the crew during travel, and provide safer measures during the re-entry process from deep space. This spacecraft will serve as the main vehicle for missions beyond low earth orbit. It will always be capable of conducting regular operations and deliver payloads by the Space Launch System. Video courtesy of NASA.

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The Spacecraft Juno launched from Earth in 2011 where it will travel to Jupiter and arrive in 2016. The purpose of the mission is the study the planet from orbit . Juno will concur a series of dives between Jupiter and Its belts of charged particle radiation. Its closest approach will be only 3,000 miles away from the cloud tops.

The main goal in sending Juno to Jupiter is to understand the origin and creation of the planet. Juno will spend a year orbiting the planet to study the deep atmosphere and inside structure. By learning about the history of Jupiter, we can understand the history and development of our Solar System. Video courtesy of NASA.

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The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, which is inside the payload on top of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, was sent on a eight month mission to Mars. The parts inside the craft include a car-sized rover and Curiosity (Which has instrumentation to search for life).

Another primary goal is to see if the region inside Gale Crater can support human life and for finding clues where life exists on Mars. The Rover has an instrument called Radiation Assessment Detector or RAD that monitors radiation. Life could not exist if too much radiation was found. With this probe, it would monitor the surface of Mars. Video courtesy of NASA.

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The Dawn spacecraft started its 1.7 billion mile voyage to study a pair of asteroids on September 27, 2007. Dawn will travel back by going through the asteroid belt. The mission includes the asteroid Vesta and Dwarf planet Ceres in 2015. The instrumentation aboard Dawn will measure minerals, shape, and surface diameter. It will also measure the bodies' masses and gravity fields. Video courtesy of NASA.

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